Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 May 1906 — ARTIFICIAL ICE IS CHEAP. [ARTICLE]

ARTIFICIAL ICE IS CHEAP.

Bat Ita PrlM la Rrgnlalrd bjr the \atnrul Supply. A curious*phase of the ice trade is found in the fact that artificial ice can be and is produced in unlimited quantities, and yet the price is regulated by the source of natural supply, which is scarcely drawn upon. Before the introduction of artificial ice this was reasonable enough. There is, indeed, some ice cut on the lukes of Maine, on the upper Hudson and lakeq like Rockland, but for several years it has not been more than 15 per cent of the whole supply. The ice trade of the tropics is a thing of the past. As laUvas 1890 a fleet of ships was engaged in this traffic, carrying ice all the year round to the West Indies, to Bombay, Calcutta and Singapore and even to the China seas, that has now been driven to seek other cargoes. The local ice machine has supplanted the cargo lee altogether. Ttie frozen meat ships from this country, from Australia and the river I’late all make their own Ice, and the storehouses have their artificial plants, which also supply in a large measure the local consumers. In 1890 thirty-five ships laden with lee from Maine entered at the port of Calcutta. In 1900 there was one, and since then none at all. Rockland lake used to cut and store for summer use in a season 50,000 tons of ice. This year It stored less than 6,000 tons. There is a demand for natural Ice be>cause, paradoxically enough, it melts faster and more evenly than the artifical product and will chill an icebox or refrigerator more rapidly and effectively. For this reason brewers and saloon keepers prefer it for the preservation of temperature of beers especially. It is more expensive at the same price than artificial Ice because it Is not so durable. Meanwhile the cost of artificial Ice production, after the plant is established, is reduced approximately to 2 cents a hundred pounds. To this may be added the cost of distribution, which is a varying figure, but on the authority of experts Ice could be sold to consumers at a fair profit not to exceed 12Mi cents a hundredweight It is not. The price in New York is 50 cents a hundredweight, with a prospect of going higher for reasons that have no basis.—-New York I’ress.